Maundy Thursday

They say you should have a headshot and resume with you at all times. I admit I’ve been guilty of forgetting one or the other at home and either ripping into submission envelopes I’ve happened to have in tow or trekking back home between sign-ups and auditions to retrieve one. For the record, I haven’t done that since at least February. I had spent most of the morning preparing for my coaching with Laura and was thrilled to discover some glorious art songs that could almost be disguised as musical theatre pieces (or vice-versa) by Ricky Ian Gordon. I gave myself an hour to make copies at Staples, hop on the subway and arrive at the 411 Space, a “church” that looks an awful lot like a blackbox theatre that Laura uses for her lessons. Small miracles along the way allowed my passage in record time and I found myself catching my breath on one of the couches in the performer’s lounge, a sort-of oasis for the worn-out auditioners that frequent midtown, with 20 minutes to spare. The space was missing the usual squeals of pre-school aged kids waddling about in tutus and ballet slippers, and other than Laura’s lesson, all was still. As I organized the 10 or so songs I was eager to try out, a man stepped into the lounge and comfortably settled into the desk where the computer sits. As he turned it on and started typing away he immediately began a conversation with me, asking if I was an artist. I explained I was there for my lesson and asked him if he was an actor, so unassuming and frank was his manner. He was a producer, director and artistic director of a small theatre company, he said. He mentioned “Fritz and Froyim” a play he was going to be auditioning next week and then asked if I had a headshot and resume with me. Well, what do you know? CA girl is learning something. He looked over it briefly, counseled me to not join Equity in any hurry and then asked if I had a monologue. Well, what do you know? I did and I ended up following him to his black box theatre on the same floor where I performed “Popo Martin,” my schizophrenic, teenaged cheerleader monologue whose propriety I’ve been questioning. He engaged me to try it again as “me” truly communicating the points, waiting until they landed on him, until I moved on. He worked with me for about 10 minutes, encouraging me to use my own voice and to allow the material to be infused by me. Without any prodding, he told me I was “quirky” which is officially 3/3, and that I didn’t need to add anything to the material but find my path within it. So, for arriving early at my coaching, I managed to work in an audition and a mini-acting lesson!!! I love this city! John, the director, was so generous with his time and even offered to help me any other time I was in the building and he happened to be around. I don’t even think he is shady because I looked his company up online and saw that his mission is mentoring young people and producing theatre for public good.
My coaching was wonderful, of course, and Laura convinced me that while not audition-appropriate, my Ricky Ian Gordon songs were treasures to be laid out at a future recital or recording. Exciting! I also made the discovery that I’m never going to be an Ethel Merman belter. I don’t need to be Ado Annie and Laurey in Oklahoma. I realized I was looking for material for all types instead of honing in on what my specific gifts allow me to do…plenty, by the way! What freedom there is in knowing I don’t have to do it all!
So, it does seem like you’ll never here this girl do any brassy Broadway belting…can you settle for a high mix? ☺
After my coaching I dropped some of my heavy music books off at my favorite home away from home, the performing arts library, before hoofing over to the Ethical and Cultural Society for the Maundy Thursday Service.
Max McLean is an amazing Christian actor who travels the world presenting different readings of the Gospels and selected Christian literature to churches and in theatres. This night, he performed the book of Mark, memorized, as a sort of one-man show. He embodied every Pharisee and disciple, and changed from Jesus to the people and back to Jesus with just a flip of his posture. I don’t have enough words for these 90 minutes…totally transfixing each of us, I wish everyone I know could have seen it. We laughed (it’s really funny, some of it) and yes, I cried and I wondered at the arc of the story, of the transformation of the people and the constancy of Jesus. After collecting the applause from enlivening all these pages in a perfect Scottish accent, Max began to address us and answer FAQs…in a perfect American accent! Ha! I loved that for the sake of the drama, he turned up the McLean aspect of his character. It was an unforgettable event and was made richer from the context of weeks of Tim Keller’s sermons on Mark. I’ve always loved the power of God’s word and its capacity for drama…and this, well, he definitely took it to the next level!